Description: In 1989 three Soviet republics--Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, known as Baltic countries--started a determined push for independence, risking to destabilize the Soviet Union and to derail international negotiations on German reunification. Politics of Uncertainty traces Soviet and American responses to Baltic claims for independence and, in doing so, sheds light on the end of the Cold War.
Review Quotes: "The Soviet Union's sudden and surprising collapse continues to resonate, nowhere more so than in the Baltics. Long subjugated, sometimes pawns, and oftentimes a thorn in the side of Kremlin leaders, the region's recent past tells us much about life next to a superpower. No scholar has better brought the Baltics and the end of the Cold War into focus than Una Bergmane, whose Politics of Uncertainty is certain to set the standard for any future study of this critical geopolitical hotspot." -- Jeffrey A. Engel, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University
"An excellent work of scholarship, thoroughly researched, original, and incisive. Based on a vast array of sources from the USA, USSR, and Europe, Bergmane gives us a whole new perspective on the Balts' independence struggle and their crucial role in Soviet collapse and the Cold War endgame. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the strategic significance of the Baltic region today." -- Kristina Spohr, author of Post Wall, Post Square: Rebuilding the World after 1989"Bergmane is a brilliant chronicler of the Baltic quest for independence from Moscow's rule. Juxtaposing Baltic, Russian, and American sources, she tells a very nuanced and yet highly readable story of how Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania negotiated their exit from the USSR, helping to undermine the Soviet empire in the process. A required read for any student of the Soviet collapse." -- Sergey Radchenko, author of Unwanted Visionaries: The Soviet Failure in Asia at the End of the Cold War"While the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev was met with appreciative recollections of his legacy of peace and democratization, Russia's brutal war against Ukraine reminds us that the causes and consequences of Soviet disintegration have not been fully established. As the world re-focuses on the process of Russia's imperial decline, Una Bergmane's analysis of the Baltic role in Soviet collapse is revelatory. With its rare and balanced analysis of the internal and international forces in play at the end of the Cold War, Politics of Uncertainty is essential reading for the post-post-Cold War world." -- Violeta Davoliūte, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University"Bergmane superbly navigates the intricacies of the triangular relationshipbetween Washington, Moscow and the Baltic republics, although for readersunfamiliar with the Baltic context a chronology of events would have beenhelpful. This excellent book is highly recommended for anyone seeking greater insight into the end of the Cold War and the demise of the USSR." -- Andres Kasekamp, Slavonic and East European "Una Bergmane's book is a significant contribution to the understanding of not only the collapse of the USSR and the independence of the Baltic countries, but also of the origins and evolution of current international politics in the region. I recommend it both to the scholars interested in the region and a wider readership." -- Saulius Grybkauskas, Journal of the Institute of Latvian History"Bergmane has undertaken an impressive investigation of the United States' interactions with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from the 1940s until the accession of the Baltic states to NATO, particularly as she takes a multilingual approach to primary and secondary research, supplemented by interviews with key figures from the period, such as Latvian Foreign Minister Janis Jurkāns and Brent Scowcroft, the US national security adviser." -- Glenn Wasson, Europe-Asia Studies